His records and record are impressive. Even inspiring.

For 45 years, Daniel D. Villanueva held the Rams’ single-season record for punt average, 45.5. That year, he led the NFL in punting yardage with 3,960. Later he was inducted into the Broadcast Management Hall of Fame and this year he will be recognized for his career of service in asset management because he co-founded the original Latino Private Equity Firm.

Villanueva had different careers during his lifetime -- and in all of them he succeeded.

“There’s a lot of different industries that he performed in exceptionally well, and he’s been recognized in every one of them,” said Mr. Villanueva’s son, Daniel L. Villanueva, to ESPN. “So to pick one [achievement] is a little hard; it’s funny, he’s had so many. He had multiple careers, and he’s been recognized for excellence in every one of his careers.”

At the age of 29, Mr. Villanueva retired from professional football, but his decision had been made after his second season in the NFL. “Football was a privilege, but it was also always a means to a different end.

“My father appreciated the opportunity football gave him to have a public platform, but it really allowed him to step into broadcasting, which is where he knew he wanted to invest his life, and because it allowed him to, I think, leverage across a very powerful medium everything that he had to offer to his community.

“And so, I think he was always focused. He played eight years in the NFL, by the end of the second year in the NFL, he knew that he was headed to a career in broadcasting, and that football was a very temporary means to that end,” explained Danny on the phone.

Villanueva was born Nov. 5, 1937 to Mexican missionaries. Mr. Villanueva entered New Mexico State University on a football scholarship, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. He died earlier this year in Ventura, Calif. of complications from a stroke.

From a young age, Mr. Villanueva understood, that he had to do everything in his power to repay this country for all the wonderful things it had given to him and his family.

It was something his mother always made sure to remind him as he told ESPN in 2008: “My mom used to tell me we should be deeply grateful to this country that took us in, and no matter how hard I worked, I wouldn't be able to repay this country. But I tried very hard to do what I couldn't do."

Mr. Villanueva ingrained the same idea into his sons, Danny and Jim. “He put that into both of us, so both Jim and I invest a very large percentage of our time in not-for-profits, aside from our for-profits business activities, the two of us, over the years, have served on many, many not-for-profit boards, that developed leaders, that developed community organizations; invest in youth and education.

“And so, it’s been a way of life,” said Danny. “It’s funny that that would have come from his mom, basically an orphaned Indian, with very limited resources, but she just had a huge heart, a lot of love and respect. I know that she loved being in this country and invested a great deal into her own community.”

After the devastating earthquake that hit Mexico City in 1985, Mr. Villanueva, who at the time was president and station manager of KMEX, organized a telethon that raised $7.2 million for Mexico City’s earthquake relief, as reported by the Christian Science Monitor.

But according to Danny, even though the México Estamos Contigo telethon was a very significant event, the telethon his dad felt really proud of was Navidad en el Barrio: “I know my dad always valued endurance and longevity and he began a charity early in his broadcast career, I want to say, late sixties, called Navidad en el Barrio.

“Navidad en el Barrio was a Christmas telethon that really provided toys, food, and clothing for families that would not otherwise have a Christmas celebration, and that continues to this day, that remains a very, very strong charity that has expanded even beyond Southern California, which is what he intended it to be,” he said. “So those kind of things, he would be very proud of that, but I’m sure he’s very proud of many of his non-for-profit activities.”

The ninth of 12 children born in the small town of Tucumcari, New Mexico was an optimist and invested a lot in education.

In 1991, Mr. Villanueva established the Danny Villanueva Scholarship Endowment to recognize students of his Alma Mater of New Mexico State University, who excel in leadership and community involvement. The endowment has funded more than 40 scholarships to students through the NMSU Foundation.

Mario Moccia, Athletic Director of NMSU, described Mr. Villanueva as a “larger than life individual” and shared with ESPN the university’s commemorative plans, which will take place on Sept. 19th when the Aggies play against the UTEP Miners.

“We’ll obviously have Danny on the cover of the game program when he was with the Aggies. We’ll have a moment of silence with some still photos,” detailed Mr. Moccia. “We have a helmet sticker that we’re going to be wearing all year, with D.V. on one side and 11 on the other, kind of like in a circle, so his initials and his number when he was an Aggie.”

On that Saturday evening, there will also be a recognition with the family on the field, and NMSU will present them a helmet with the sticker on it. Also some members of his team will be coming back for a reunion, so the university will try to integrate them as well into the memorials.

A lot of his help went to young Latino students, who wanted to attend NMSU, but he did more. “You know during the busiest years, he would have probably 200-plus speaking engagements a year, talking to young people and is precisely because he was optimistic about young people, and really putting the community in a position to do even better in subsequent generations.

“And that’s how dad served, he was a long-term vision guy.” stated Danny. “It wasn’t about his lifetime, and what he could accomplish and what he could enjoy, it was always to leave everything in much better position and condition for all the rest of us who followed him.”

Mr. Villanueva was a pioneer in many matters that have helped increase the Latino presence in the United States, but it is his way of life that should be remembered for years to come.

“He had a big heart, and he included other people in his wins and his successes, that’s unusual,” said his son. “It’s particularly unusual in a country that’s struggling, I think, with a generation that is increasingly inward focus, and dad was always focused outside, looking at other people and seeing how he could help and how he could bring joy.

“I had one senior executive from a major university one time tell me, ‘Your dad is a great man. I love him because he has such a grand spirit,’ and that’s a very good description because he had such a huge heart, and there was always room for more to come into the tent and enjoy everything that this great country has to offer.”